New season just around the corner

A new World Cup race season is just around the corner  eight days to be exact.

Okay, so Oct. 23rd is a little closer than just around the corner! Isnt it still the beginning of June? Shouldnt I still be riding my mountain bike and swimming in the lake?

Though it feels like the summer has just flown by, if I stop and think about what happened over the course of the last four months I realize that it was full and busy, all in preparation for the upcoming season.

Early in the summer the whole team dove into a 12-week training block, and in early August, both teams went their separate ways to get in some on-snow training. The men spent five weeks in Zermatt, Switzerland and got close to 15 days on snow, while the women spent three and a half weeks in Valle Nevado, Chile. Afterwards the team started another five-week training block, our final preparation for the race season.

This summer ran a little differently than past years. The trainer that has been working with the mens team for the past few seasons is now working with both the mens and womens senior teams.

In our 12-week training block we travelled to Calgary to train with him. The experience was great, it brought the team together and we were able to push ourselves and each other to the next level. I had a really good time training with the guys this summer, and because our programs were very similar we were often right next to each other in the gym.

In addition, all of the western athletes gathered in Calgary for four one-week sessions over the course of the summer, while the eastern athletes gathered in Mont Tremblant and trained together for the same number of weeks. I think the program worked very well; the team spent more time together while still giving the athletes some time at home.

On Aug. 10th the womens team took off to Chile. It was my first time there so everything was new.

We flew into Santiago and then loaded up the buses and were driven up to an altitude of 3,000 metres. The road was really winding, which is not good if you get car sick.

Over the course of the camp we trained downhill, super G, giant slalom and slalom. It was the first camp in a long time where both the speed and technical teams skied together. Because of that we were able to run a great camp, easily one of the best Ive ever had. We trained hard every day with full timing set up, and ran long courses in all disciplines. We also got to train alongside some of our top competitors from around the world.

Valle Nevado was a really neat spot; the people were friendly, the food was great (except for a few upset stomachs), and the skiing was awesome. I recommend a trip there to everyone.

I was recently home for a little break, which I spent working out in the gym and getting my life in order. This time of the year its important to wrap things up at home because from here on in I wont get home very often.

As you read this Ive been in Pitztal, Austria for the past week, flying out of Canada on Oct. 7. This weekend Ill be heading to Soelden, Austria where the first races will be held. The mens and womens World Cup season openers will be on the 23rd and 24th of October  just around the corner, as I mentioned earlier.

I am looking forward to getting back on the road and onto my skis. Im also looking forward to a new season of writing to everyone back at home. Heres to a new season!